Closing ring



Feb. 9, 1943. H. VAN HORN 2,310,901

CLOSING RING Filed Jan. 15, 1941 IIIIIIIIIIIII/ Patented Feb. 9, 1943CLOSING RING Arthur H. Van Horn, Rocky River, Ohio, assignor to CornellSecurities Corporation, Gleveland, Ohio, a corporation of DelawareApplication January 15, 1941, Serial No. 374,544

3 Claims.

My invention relates to shipping containers such as metal barrels,drums, pails or the like, and more particularl relates to an improvedtype of sealing ring for removably securing a cover in place in the openend of the container and in fluid tight sealed relation thereto.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide atransversely split sealing ring with means for contracting and expandingthe ring about the cover and container by employing a lever or handlepivotally carried by one end of the ring and having means engageablewith the other end of the ring so that upon moving the lever in onedirection of rotation the ring will be contracted and by moving it in anopposite direction the ring will be expanded.

A further object of the invention isa sealing ring of the above namedcharacter in which the only movable part employed in expanding the ringis the lever.

A further object is to construct a sealing ring of the type abovedescribed in which the lever is provided with means engageable with alug on the ring end to expand the ring when the lever is moved in onedirection and to contract the ring when the lever is moved in anotherdirection.

Another object of the invention consists in reducing the ring expandingand contracting means to a minimum number of parts thereby reducing thecost of manufacture and assembly without impairing its effectiveness orease of operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an operating lever whichis positive and direct in its action to open or close the ring, thusmaking it possible to eliminate connecting links between the lever andthe end of the ring opposite that to which the lever is pivotallyconnected.

Another object consists in the provision of. a lever for contracting andexpanding the ring in which the lever operates about one fulcrum tocontract the ring and about a different fulcrum to expand the ring.

A still further object of the invention is to reduce the required numberof movable parts to a single lever to seal effectively and remove acover fromv a container without the use of tools.

A further object consists in providing means of the above describedcharacter which can be operated outside the container side walls andbelow the ring and head of the container, without presenting anyobjectionable protruding parts which might interfere with nesting orstoring of the containers.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparentfrom the following description of an embodiment thereof, reference beingmade to the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters areemployed to designate like parts throughout.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of my invention shownapplied in use;

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the same in the vicinity ofthe ring ends and shows the ring in contracted sealing position;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side view of the ring showing the lever inposition at the beginning of the ring contracting stroke;

Figure 4 is a similar view illustrating the manner in which the lever isoperated about a second fulcrum to expand the ring by forciblyseparating the ring ends;

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on line 55 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on line S 5 of Figure 2'.

In the art of shipping and storing containers such as metallic barrels,drums, pails or the like, it is common practice to the cover on the openend of the container by means of a contractible sealing ring ofchannelled cross section carrying mechanism for contracting the ring toseal the cover on the container.

Many ofthese devices, however, rely upon a plurality of elements tocontract or to expand the'ring, as for instance, links and levers, racksand pinions, multiple or compound links and lever arrangements and thelike.

My invention is designed to reduce the number of elements of suchdevices to a single movable element which operates both as a ringcontracting member and a ring expanding member depending upon itsdirection of movement. Thus the assembly is simplified in constructionand, of course, is more economical to manufacture.

In carrying out the present invention in accordance with the embodimentillustrated in the accompanying drawing, I have shown a metal barrel,drum or pail at i which is provided with head 2 rolled outwardly at itsopen end. The cover 3 has a peripheral upwardly and outwardly extendingflange 4 which is adapted to overlie the packing 5 and the bead 2 asshown. The channelled, split clamping ring 6 engages the cover flange 4and the bead 2 and presses same together against the packing in sealingrelation when the ring is contracted.

Adjacent one end 'l of the split ring E, I have provided a lug or hanger8 which extends downwardly under the bead and close to the side Wall ofthe container as shown. A lever assembly is pivotally carried by the lugat 9. The other end III of the ring carries a rigid member II alsoextending downwardly from the ring and under the bead and in alignmentwith the central plane of the lug 8.

The lever assembly above referred to, comprises a handle portion I 2 andan extension lever arm I3 pivotally connected as a unit within theU-shaped lug 8 by means of the pin 9 and operates as a rigid unit aboutthis fulcrum in one direction for contracting the ring as will be morefully brought out hereinafter. The handle portion of the lever assemblyis pivotally carried at I4 within the lever arm I3,

The lever arm I3 may be L-shaped in elevation as shown to permit the useof a short lug 8 and further to locate the fulcrum 9 preferably abovethe fulcrum I4, although the lug 8 may be extended downwardly so thatthe fulcrums 9 and I 4 will be in substantial alignment. However, thepreferred arrangement is that illustrated in the drawing, since theadvantages of smoother operation are greater as will be seen as thisdescription progresses,

The outer portion of the lever arm I3 is slotted or bifurcated at I5 toreceive an end I6 of the handle I2. An abutment or stop I! is formedwithin the slotted end of the lever arm I3, while the adjacent end ofthe handle I2 is formed with an extension I8 engageable by the stop I!to prevent movement of the handle relative to the lever arm I3 in acounterclockwise direction from an aligned position as indicated inFigure 2. From this position, however, the handle is freely movable onthe lever about the fulcrum I4 in a clockwise position to expand thering as shown in Figure 4.

In order to effect positive ring expansion and contraction as a resultof direct engagement of the rigid handle member with rigid cooperatingmeans carried by one end of the ring, I have provided spaced cams I9 and29 formed as an integral part of the handle portion of the lever andextending upwardly in the direction of the lower flange of the ring andthe bead of the container, and to receive therebetween the tooth or cammember I I as illustrated in Figure 2.

It will be noted particularly from Figures 2, 3, and 4 that the oppositewalls 2| and 22 of the cam II are formed for sliding engagement with thecrown portion 23 and 24 of the members I9 and 29 respectively. The Wall2| is convexly curved from the root of the member II to its lowermostportion, while the wall 22 is substantially vertical from the root tothe lowermost portion although it may be merely an inclined wall, or itmay be concavely curved.

In use, the embodiment of my invention herein described and shownoperates in substantially the following manner.

The expanded ring is applied to a container and cover as illustrated inFigures 3 and 5 so that the ring flanges loosely overlie the coverflange and the bead of the container. To contract the ring and therebyseal the cover on the container, the operator grasps the handle I2 andpull it upwardly about the fulcrum 9. It will be noted that an upwardpull on-the handle from the position shown in Figure 3 will cause thewhole lever assembly comprising the handle I2 and the arm I3, to move asa rigid lever about the pin 9 because of the fact that the extension I8at the fulcrumed end of the handle I2 presses against the abutment I! ofthe lever arm. Thus movement of the handle I2 in a counterclockwisedirection from the position shown in Figure 3 can only result inmovement of the lever assembly as a single rigid lever about the fulcrum9.

As the lever approaches the ring, the crown 23 of the tooth or cam 20will engage the convex wall of the cam I I and slide along it until theoffset portion 23 snaps into the seat 25. During this movement of thelever the ring ends are pulled toward each other due to the opposedcircumferential closing forces applied to one ring end through the lug 8and to the other ring end through the cam I I. When the ring is fullycontracted, the parts will be in the positions indicated in Figure 2 andthe lever can be maintained in such position in shipment by means of thesnap seating of the offset cam end 23 in the socket or seat 25 of thecam II. Furthermore the handle may be provided with an apertured tab 26in alignment with an apertured stop 21 for receiving a sealing wire 28as a precaution aaginst unauthorized access to the interior of thecontainer.

When it is desired to remove the cover 3 by expanding the ring, thesealing wire 28 is, of course, first removed. The operator then exerts adownward thrust on the handle I2 unseating the offset end 23 from theseat 25. It will be noted that a clockwise movement of the handle I2from the position illustrated in Figure 2, will be about the fulcrumrepresented at I4 as shown more clearly in Figure 4, rather than aboutthe fulcrum 9, thus shortening the leverage from the outer end of thehandle to the fulcrum I4 as contrasted to the longer leverage from theend of the handle to the fulcrum 9 when the lever is moved in a reversedirection to contract the ring.

It will also be noted that the distance between the fulcrum 9 and thetoe 23 of the cam 20 is reater than that between the fulcrum I4 and thecrown 24 of the member I9 which engages the surface 22 of the cam IIduring forcible expansion of the ring.

The longest radius of the cam I9 extends in a plane slightly to theright of the vertical when the ring is fully contracted as shown inFigure 2 and is of sufiicient length that a clockwise movement of thelever I2 and the cam I9 will cause a spreading of the ring ends I and I0due to sliding engagement of the crown 24 with the wall 22 of the memberII.

As the ring end I I] moves to the right in Figure 4 during the expandingoperation, the cam 20 will move outwardly and downwardly of the memberII without interferin with the ring expansion. Ordinarily, only alimited force is required to begin expansion of the ring due to the factthat the ring is normally slightly expanded. It is often necessary toapply an initial force to expand a ring which has become set in itscontracted position on the container and the present invention includesmeans for applying such initial forces through the operation of a leverhaving portions engageable with an end of the ring.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that the invention provides asimple and compact means for contracting and expanding a sealing ringinto and out of cover sealin relation with the container by theoperation of a single lever in which the same operates about one fulcrumto contract the ring and about another fulcrum to expand the ring.

I have also provided means for preventing movement of the lever arm l3about its fulcrum during the expanding operation. Such means may consistof crimping the lug walls vertically inwardly as at 3!) and recessingthe lever arm at 3| vertically so that the crimp will snap into therecess and thus resist turning movements in the lever arm when it isdesired to move the lever handle independently in a clockwise directionto expand the ring as in Figure 4.

The compression of the lug walls 8 to set the crimp 33 in the recess 3|is easily maintained by the beaded pin 9 although this lever arm iscapable of being moved to the position shown in Figure 3 to prepare thelever assembly for its function of contracting the ring.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction andarrangement of parts of my invention without departing from the spiritof the same or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A clamping ring for sealing a cover on the open end of a receptaclecomprising a transversely split channeled ring having portionsengageable with the cover and with the receptacle to press the sametogether when the ring is contracted, members depending from the ringnear its respective ends, and means for contracting and expandin thering, said means including a lever pivotally connected with one of saidring carried members, a handle pivoted to said lever, a stop on saidlever engageable with a portion of the handle for movement with thelever in one direction but movable independently of the lever in anopposite direction, and a pair of longitudinally spaced abutmentscarried by the lever handle to engageably receive therebetween the saidother ring carried member whereby upon movement of the lever handle inone direction the ring is contracted.

2. A clamping ring for sealing a cover on the open end of a receptaclecomprising a transversely split channeled ring having portionsengageable with the cover and with the receptacle to press the sametogether when the ring is contracted, members depending from the ringnear its respective ends, and means for contracting and expanding thering, said means including a lever pivotally connected with one of saidring carried members, a handle pivoted to said lever, a stop on saidlever engageable with a portion of the handle for movement with thelever in one direction but movable independently of the lever in anopposite direction, and a pairof abutments spaced longitudinally of thelever and carried by the lever handle to engageably receive therebetweenthe said other ring carried member whereby upon movement of the leverhandle in one direction the ring is contracted, and upon movement of thelever handle in an opposite direction the ring is expanded.

3. A clamping ring for sealing a cover on the open end of a receptaclecomprising a transversely split channeled ring having portionsengageable with the cover and with the receptacle to press the sametogether when the ring is contracted, members depending from the ringnear its respective ends, and means for contracting and expanding thering, said means including a lever pivotally connected with one of saidring carried members, a handle pivoted to said lever for movement withthe lever in one direction but movable independently of the lever in anopposite direction, a lateral abutment on said lever handle, said otherring carried member having a convex face engageable by said abutmentwhen the lever handle is moved in one direction to contract the ring, abearing member on said abutment having bearin'g engagement with theconvex face of the said other ring carried member, said convex facehaving a retaining seat to receive the bearing member and to retain thelever handle in ring contracted position.

ARTHUR H. VAN HORN.

